5 simple steps to successful ecommerce with email marketing

A recent study by Custora has shown that email marketing leads to 7% of all ecommerce conversions, making it second only to organic search which sits at 15.8%. We are not surprised to see these statistics. Growing your ecommerce business is not all down to an attractive, dependable website; you need to excite and engage your customers.

Targeted, engaging email campaigns are a key factor to increasing traffic and driving revenue - so we have written you 5 simple steps to follow for ecommerce success with email marketing;

image source: blog.custora.com

Step 1) Contact details

Your business needs as many customers to reach as possible. If you want to convert traffic into contacts, you will need to give the customer a reason to hand over their details.

One of the best ways to do this is to have a "sign up here" form appear on the home page or at the check out; asking if they'd like news updates or if they'd like you to save their payment information. There is no harm in asking and most customers will complete it, if they get something in return.

image source: soundest.com

Step 2) Make it personal

A study by the email marketing service provider MailChimp found that sending segmented, promotional emails to specific groups such as style, gender or age rather than one bulk email; increased open rates by 14% and improved click-through to site rates by approximately 15% - so try not to generalise your communications.

Don't be afraid to be spontaneous either, predictable offers can become boring and end up deleted; why not include unexpected gifts or deals to attract those impulse buyers?

image source: gofishclientcatchers.com

Step 3) Keep an eye on the calendar

The retail industry benefits heavily from the holiday seasons; create targeted campaigns for Valentines day, Christmas or Summer breaks - your content becomes instantly relevant so the reader is automatically interested in what you have to say.

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Step 4) Consider the impact of your subject lines

The first line of your email the customer will read is the subject line, so it has to be interesting. This is where the segmented or seasonal email campaigns work as they keep your subject line relevant and the calls to action become significant. Keep your information clear, concise and clever and you will create attention and intrigue from the reader.

image source: pebbledesign.com

Step 5) Automated responses show you care.

Staying in touch with your customers before and after sales helps build on the relationship and trust with your business. Examples of automated interactions could be shopping cart reminders or cross selling items they might be interested in.

An extensive and flexible ecommerce platform like a world leader, Magento; allows you to send myriad targeted, automated response emails - amongst many others - to all your customers for all features of your website; allowing your online store and its customer relationships to thrive.

Catherine Durham

Digital Marketing Manager (Dip DigM)

Catherine Durham has a masters in Digital Marketing and a wealth of experience in optimisation and strategy development for ecommerce retailers. Her specialisms include SEO, paid search, email marketing and conversion rate optimisation.

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